Request routing in a networked environment

ABSTRACT

A system, methods, and interfaces for managing request routing functionality associated with resource requests for one or more resources associated with a content provider. The request routing functionality can correspond to the processing of domain name service (“DNS”) requests for resources by computing devices and the resolution of the DNS requests by the identification of a network address of a computing device that will provide the requested resources. Unlike traditional CDN service provider implementation, the processing of resource requests by the service provider is separate from the delivery of the content by the content provider (or on behalf of the content provider).

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/467,774, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,191,338, entitled “REQUEST ROUTING IN ANETWORKED ENVIRONMENT,” and filed on Aug. 25, 2014, which in turn is acontinuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/892,877, now U.S.Pat. No. 8,819,283, entitled “REQUEST ROUTING IN A NETWORKEDENVIRONMENT,” and filed on Sep. 28, 2010, the disclosure of which isincorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

Generally described, computing devices and communication networks can beutilized to exchange information. In a common application, a computingdevice can request content from another computing device via thecommunication network. For example, a user at a personal computingdevice can utilize a software browser application to request a Web pagefrom a server computing device via the Internet. In such embodiments,the user computing device can be referred to as a client computingdevice and the server computing device can be referred to as a contentprovider.

Content providers are generally motivated to provide requested contentto client computing devices often with consideration of efficienttransmission of the requested content to the client computing deviceand/or consideration of a cost associated with the transmission of thecontent. For larger scale implementations, a content provider mayreceive content requests from a high volume of client computing deviceswhich can place a strain on the content provider's computing resources.Additionally, the content requested by the client computing devices mayhave a number of components, which can further place additional strainon the content provider's computing resources.

With reference to an illustrative example, a requested Web page, ororiginal content, may be associated with a number of additionalresources, such as images or videos, which are to be displayed with theWeb page. In one specific embodiment, the additional resources of theWeb page are identified by a number of embedded resource identifiers,such as uniform resource locators (“URLs”). In turn, software on theclient computing devices typically processes embedded resourceidentifiers to generate requests for the content. Often, the resourceidentifiers associated with the embedded resources reference a computingdevice associated with the content provider such that the clientcomputing device would transmit the request for the additional resourcesto the referenced content provider computing device. Accordingly, inorder to satisfy a content request, the content provider(s) (or anyservice provider on behalf of the content provider(s)) would provideclient computing devices data associated with the Web page and/or thedata associated with the embedded resources.

Content providers are generally motivated to provide requested contentto client computing devices often with consideration of efficienttransmission of the requested content to the client computing deviceand/or consideration of a cost associated with the transmission of thecontent. Accordingly, content providers often consider factors such aslatency of delivery of requested content in processing client computingdevice requests in order to meet service level agreements or togenerally improve the quality of delivery service.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing aspects and many of the attendant advantages of thisinvention will become more readily appreciated as the same become betterunderstood by reference to the following detailed description, whentaken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrative of content delivery environmentincluding a number of client computing devices, a content provider, anetwork storage provider, and a content delivery network serviceprovider;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the content delivery environment of FIG. 1illustrating the registration of a content provider with a networkstorage provider;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the content delivery environment of FIG. 1illustrating the registration of a content provider with a serviceprovider;

FIG. 4A-4C are block diagrams of the content delivery environment ofFIG. 1 illustrating one embodiment of the processing of resourcerequests generated by client computing devices;

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrative of a content provider registrationprocessing routine implemented by a service provider;

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrative of a request routing processingroutine implemented by a service provider; and

FIG. 7 is an illustrative user interface displaying information for usein registering request routing services with a service provider.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Generally described, the present disclosure is directed to managingrequest routing functionality associated with resource requests for oneor more resources associated with a content provider. Specifically,aspects of the disclosure will be described with regard to themanagement and processing of request routing functionality by a serviceprovider, such as a content delivery network (“CDN”) service provider,on behalf of a content provider. Illustratively, the request routingfunctionality can correspond to the processing of domain name service(“DNS”) requests for resources by computing devices and the resolutionof the DNS requests by the identification of a network address of acomputing device that will provide the requested resources. Unliketraditional CDN service provider implementation, the processing of DNSrequests by the service provider can be separated from the storage ofcontent by content provider or on behalf of the content provider.Additionally, the processing of the DNS requests by the service providercan also be separated from the delivery of the content by the contentprovider or on behalf of the content provider.

Although various aspects of the disclosure will be described with regardto illustrative examples and embodiments, one skilled in the art willappreciate that the disclosed embodiments and examples should not beconstrued as limiting. For example, the present disclosure may bedescribed with regard to request routing services provided by a serviceprovider, such as a CDN service provider, that may provide additionalservices and functionality including network-based storage services,caching services, and content delivery services. However, one skilled inthe relevant art will appreciate that a service provider need notprovide all, or any, of the additional services or functionality thatmay be associated with some service providers, such as a CDN serviceprovider.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrative of content delivery environment100 for managing the registration of a content provider with a serviceprovider, such as a CDN service provider, and subsequent processing ofat least a portion of content requests on behalf of the contentprovider. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the content delivery environment 100includes a number of client computing devices 102 (generally referred toas clients) for requesting content from a content provider, a networkstorage provider 110, and/or a CDN service provider 106. In anillustrative embodiment, the client computing devices 102 can correspondto a wide variety of computing devices including personal computingdevices, laptop computing devices, hand-held computing devices, terminalcomputing devices, mobile devices, wireless devices, various electronicdevices and appliances and the like. In an illustrative embodiment, theclient computing devices 102 include necessary hardware and softwarecomponents for establishing communications over a communication network108, such as a wide area network or local area network. For example, theclient computing devices 102 may be equipped with networking equipmentand browser software applications that facilitate communications via theInternet or an intranet.

Although not illustrated in FIG. 1, each client computing device 102utilizes some type of local DNS resolver component, such as a DNS nameserver, that generates the DNS queries attributed to the clientcomputing device. In one embodiment, the local DNS resolver componentmay be provided by an enterprise network to which the client computingdevice 102 belongs. In another embodiment, the local DNS resolvercomponent may be provided by an Internet Service Provider (ISP) thatprovides the communication network connection to the client computingdevice 102.

The content delivery environment 100 can also include a content provider104 in communication with the one or more client computing devices 102via the communication network 108. The content provider 104 illustratedin FIG. 1 corresponds to a logical association of one or more computingdevices associated with a content provider. Specifically, the contentprovider 104 can include a web server component 112 corresponding to oneor more server computing devices for obtaining and processing requestsfor content (such as Web pages) from the client computing devices 102.The content provider 104 can further include an origin server component114 and associated storage component 116 corresponding to one or morecomputing devices for obtaining and processing requests for networkresources. One skilled in the relevant art will appreciate that thecontent provider 104 can be associated with various additional computingresources, such additional computing devices for administration ofcontent and resources and the like. Additionally, although the originserver component 114 and associated storage component 116 are logicallyassociated with the content provider 104, the origin server component114 and associated storage components 116 may be geographicallydistributed throughout the communication network 108 in a manner to bestserve various demographics of client computing devices 102.

As further illustrated in FIG. 1, the content provider 104 can beassociated with one or more DNS name server components 118 that areoperative to receive DNS queries related to registered domain namesassociated with the content provider. The one or more DNS name serverscan be authoritative to resolve client computing device DNS queriescorresponding to the registered domain names of the content provider104. A DNS name server component is considered to be authoritative to aDNS query if the DNS name server can resolve the query by providing aresponsive IP address. As will be explained in greater detail below, inaccordance with illustrative embodiments, at least a portion of therequest routing functionality provided by the DNS name server components118 will be provided by a service provider.

With continued reference to FIG. 1, the content delivery environment 100can further include a service provider 106 in communication with the oneor more client computing devices 102, the content provider 104, and thenetwork storage provider 110 via the communication network 108. Theservice provider 106 illustrated in FIG. 1 corresponds to a logicalassociation of one or more computing devices associated with a serviceprovider. Specifically, the service provider 106 can include a number ofPoint of Presence (“POP”) locations 120, 126, 132 that correspond tonodes on the communication network 108. Each POP 120, 126, 132 includesa DNS component 122, 128, 134 made up of a number of DNS servercomputing devices for resolving DNS queries from the client computingdevices 102. Each POP 120, 126, 132 also optionally includes a resourcecache component 124, 130, 136 made up of a number of cache servercomputing devices for storing resources from content providers ornetwork storage providers and transmitting various requested resourcesto various client computers. The DNS components 122, 128, 134 and theresource cache components 124, 130, 136 may further include additionalsoftware and/or hardware components that facilitate communicationsincluding, but not limited, load balancing or load sharingsoftware/hardware components.

In an illustrative embodiment, the DNS component 122, 128, 134 andresource cache component 124, 130, 136 are considered to be logicallygrouped, regardless of whether the components, or portions of thecomponents, are physically separate. Additionally, although the POPs120, 126, 132 are illustrated in FIG. 1 as logically associated with theservice provider 106, the POPs will be geographically distributedthroughout the communication network 108 in a manner to best servevarious demographics of client computing devices 102. Additionally, oneskilled in the relevant art will appreciate that the service provider106 can be associated with various additional computing resources, suchadditional computing devices for administration of content andresources, and the like.

With further continued reference to FIG. 1, the content deliveryenvironment 100 can also include a network storage provider 110 incommunication with the one or more client computing devices 102, theservice provider 106, and the content provider 104 via the communicationnetwork 108. The network storage provider 110 illustrated in FIG. 1 alsocorresponds to a logical association of one or more computing devicesassociated with a network storage provider. Specifically, the networkstorage provider 110 can include a number of network storage providerPoint of Presence (“NSP POP”) locations 138, 142 that correspond tonodes on the communication network 108. Each NSP POP 138, 142 includes astorage component 140, 144 made up of a number of storage devices forstoring resources from content providers which will be processed by thenetwork storage provider 110 and transmitted to various client computingdevices. The storage components 140, 144 may further include additionalsoftware and/or hardware components that facilitate communicationsincluding, but not limited to, load balancing or load sharingsoftware/hardware components.

In an illustrative embodiment, the storage components 140, 144 areconsidered to be logically grouped, regardless of whether thecomponents, or portions of the components, are physically separate.Additionally, although the NSP POPs 138, 142 are illustrated in FIG. 1as logically associated with the network storage provider 110, the NSPPOPs will be geographically distributed throughout the communicationnetwork 108 in a manner to best serve various demographics of clientcomputing devices 102. Additionally, one skilled in the relevant artwill appreciate that the network storage provider 110 can be associatedwith various additional computing resources, such additional computingdevices for administration of content and resources, DNS name servers,and the like. For example, the network storage provider 110 can beassociated with one or more DNS name server components that areoperative to receive DNS queries related to registered domain namesassociated with the network storage provider 110. The one or more DNSname servers can be authoritative to resolve client computing device DNSqueries corresponding to the registered domain names of the networkstorage provider 110. As similarly set forth above, a DNS name servercomponent is considered to be authoritative to a DNS query if the DNSname server can resolve the query by providing a responsive IP address.

Even further, one skilled in the relevant art will appreciate that thecomponents of the network storage provider 110 and components of theservice provider 106 can be managed by the same or different entities.One skilled in the relevant art will also appreciate that the componentsand configurations provided in FIG. 1 are illustrative in nature.Accordingly, additional or alternative components and/or configurations,especially regarding the additional components, systems, and subsystemsfor facilitating communications may be utilized. Specifically, oneskilled in the relevant art will appreciate the network storage provider110 may be omitted from the content delivery environment 100.

With reference now to FIGS. 2-4C, the interaction between variouscomponents of the content delivery environment 100 of FIG. 1 will beillustrated. For purposes of the example, however, the illustration hasbeen simplified such that many of the components utilized to facilitatecommunications are not shown. One skilled in the relevant art willappreciate that such components can be utilized and that additionalinteractions would accordingly occur without departing from the spiritand scope of the present disclosure.

With reference to FIG. 2, an illustrative interaction for the optionalregistration of a content provider 104 with the network storage provider110 for hosting content on behalf of the content provider 104 will bedescribed. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the storage provider contentregistration process begins with registration of the content provider104 with the network storage provider 110. In an illustrativeembodiment, the content provider 104 utilizes a registration applicationprogram interface (“API”) to register with the network storage provider110 such that the network storage provider 110 can provide content onbehalf of the content provider 104. The registration API can include theidentification of the origin server 114 of the content provider 104 thatmay provide requested resources to the network storage provider 110. Inaddition or alternatively, the registration API can include the contentto be stored by the network storage provider 110 on behalf of thecontent provider 104. In one embodiment, the network storage provider110 may act as an origin server for the content provider 104.

One skilled in the relevant art will appreciate that upon storage of thecontent by the network storage provider 110, the content provider 104can begin to direct requests for content from client computing devices102 to the network storage provider 110. Specifically, in accordancewith DNS routing principles, a client computing device requestcorresponding to a resource identifier would eventually be directedtoward a storage component 140, 144 of a NSP POP 138, 142 associatedwith the network storage provider 110. The request routing of a clientcomputing device request will be described in greater detail below.

With continued reference to FIG. 2, upon receiving the registration API,the network storage provider 110 obtains and processes the contentprovider registration information. In an illustrative embodiment, thenetwork storage provider 110 can then generate additional informationthat will be used by the client computing devices 102 as part of thecontent requests. The additional information can include, withoutlimitation, content provider identifiers, such as content provideridentification codes, storage provider identifiers, such as storageprovider identification codes, executable code for processing resourceidentifiers, such as script-based instructions, and the like. Oneskilled in the relevant art will appreciate that various types ofadditional information may be generated by the network storage provider110 and that the additional information may be embodied in any one of avariety of formats.

In one embodiment, the network storage provider 110 returns anidentification of applicable domains for the network storage provider(unless it has been previously provided) and any additional informationto the content provider 104. In turn, the content provider 104 can thenprocess the stored content with content provider specific information.In one example, as illustrated in FIG. 2, the content provider 104translates resource identifiers originally directed toward a domain ofthe origin server 114 to a domain corresponding to the network storageprovider 110. The translated URLs are embedded into requested content ina manner such that DNS queries for the translated URLs will resolve to aDNS server corresponding to the network storage provider 110 and not aDNS server corresponding to the content provider 104.

Generally, the identification of the resources originally directed tothe content provider 104 will be in the form of a resource identifierthat can be processed by the client computing device 102, such asthrough a browser software application. In an illustrative embodiment,the resource identifiers can be in the form of a uniform resourcelocator (“URL”). Because the resource identifiers are included in therequested content directed to the content provider, the resourceidentifiers can be referred to generally as the “content provider URL.”For purposes of an illustrative example, the content provider URL canidentify a domain of the content provider 104 (e.g.,contentprovider.com), a name of the resource to be requested (e.g.,“resource.xxx”) and a path where the resource will be found (e.g.,“path”). In this illustrative example, the content provider URL has theform of:

-   -   http://www.contentprovider.com/path/resource.xxx

In an alternative embodiment, the resource identifiers provided by thecontent provider 104 can correspond to the network storage provider 110,or network storage providers, that are hosting content on behalf of thecontent provider. These resource identifiers can be generally referredto as network storage provider URLs. The network storage provider URLsidentify a domain of the network storage provider 110 (e.g.,“storageprovider.com”), the same name of the resource to be requested(e.g., “resource.xxx”) and the same path where the resource will befound (e.g., “path”). Additionally, the network storage provider URL caninclude additional processing information (e.g., “additionalinformation”) such as request routing information or identificationinformation, such as a content provider identifier. Illustratively, thenetwork storage provider URL would have the form of:

-   -   http://additional        information.storageprovider.com/path/resource.xxx

In another embodiment, the information associated with the networkstorage provider 110 is included in the network storage provider URL,such as through prepending or other techniques, such that the networkstorage provider URL can maintain all of the information associated withthe original URL. In this embodiment, the network storage provider URLwould have the form of:

-   -   http://additional        information.storageprovider.com/www.contentprovider.com/path/resource.xxx

With reference now to FIG. 3, an illustrative interaction forregistration, by the content provider 104, to utilize the requestrouting services provided by the service provider 106 will be described.As illustrated in FIG. 3, the request routing service registrationprocess provided by the service provider 106 begins with registration ofthe content provider 104 with the service provider 106. In anillustrative embodiment, the content provider 104 utilizes aregistration application program interface (“API”) to register with theservice provider 106 such that the service provider 106 can providerequest routing services on behalf of the content provider 104. Theregistration API includes the identification of the domains for whichthe service provider 106 will be authoritative (e.g.,“contentprovider.com”), the identification of the storage component 140,144 of the network storage provider 110 or origin servers 114 that willprovide requested resources to the client computing devices 102. Theregistration API can also include additional information includingrequest routing information, identification information, or otherinformation that will be used to resolve client computing device DNSrequests on behalf of the content provider 104, as will be explainedbelow. An illustrative screen display for use in a manual configurationof the DNS request routing services will be described with regard toFIG. 7.

The service provider 106 obtains the registration API and processes theinformation. In one aspect, the service provider 106 can generate thenecessary request processing rules or alternative identifiers that maybe utilized in the resolution of client computing device DNS queries. Inanother aspect, the service provider 106 can cause the registration ofits DNS name server components for the relevant domains specified by thecontent provider 104. The service provider 104 can then send a responseto the content provider 104, such as a confirmation.

Illustratively, upon the optional identification of appropriate storagecomponent 140, 144 of the network storage provider 110 and theregistration for request routing functionality with the service provider106, the content provider 104 can, in one embodiment as will be furtherdescribed below in reference to FIGS. 4A-4C, begin to process DNSrequests for content generated on behalf of the client computing devices102. Specifically, in accordance with DNS routing principles, a clientcomputing device DNS query corresponding to a resource identifier wouldeventually be resolved by identifying a network address corresponding toeither the origin server component 114 and associated storage component116 or storage component 140, 144 of the network storage provider 110 bya DNS name server associated with the service provider 106.

With reference first to FIG. 4A, the interaction begins with thegeneration of a request for content from the client computing device102, such as through a browser software application. The first requestfor content is often referred to as the original resource request, whichoften can correspond to a request for a Web page (or other networkresource). As illustrated in FIG. 4A, the original resource request isreceived and processed by the content provider 104. In accordance withan illustrative embodiment, the request for content can be in accordancewith common network protocols, such as the hypertext transfer protocol(“HTTP”). Upon receipt of the content request, the content provider 104identifies the appropriate responsive content. In an illustrativeembodiment, the requested content can correspond to a Web page that isdisplayed on the client computing device 102 via the processing ofinformation, such as hypertext markup language (“HTML”), extensiblemarkup language (“XML”), and the like. The content provider 104, such asvia a Web server component 112, can return the requested resource andinclude a number of embedded resources in the original requestedresource. For example, a Web page may include references to a number ofembedded image and data files to be rendered by the client computingdevice 102.

With reference now to FIG. 4B, upon receipt of the requested content,the client computing device 102, such as through a browser softwareapplication, begins processing any of the markup code included in thecontent and attempts to acquire the resources identified by the embeddedresource identifiers (e.g., the embedded, modified URLs). Accordingly,the first step in acquiring the content corresponds to the issuance, bythe client computing device 102 (through its local DNS resolver), of aDNS query for the resource identifier (e.g., the Original URL or networkstorage provider URL) that results in the identification of a DNS serverauthoritative to the “.” and the “com” portions of the URL. Afterpartially resolving the modified URL according to the “.” and “com”portions of the URL, the client computing device 102 then issues anotherDNS query for the URL that results in “contentprovider” or“storageprovider” portion of the URL. The issuance of DNS queriescorresponding to the “.” and the “com” portions of a URL, such as theOriginal URL or network storage provider URL, are well known and havenot been illustrated.

In an illustrative embodiment, the identification of a DNS serverauthoritative to the “contentprovider” corresponds to an IP address of aDNS server associated with the service provider 106. In one embodiment,the IP address is a specific network address unique to DNS servercomponent(s) of a specific POP associated with the service provider 106.In another embodiment, the IP address can be shared by one or more POPsassociated with the service provider 106, which may be geographically orlogically distributed. In this embodiment, a DNS query to the shared IPaddress utilizes a one-to-many network routing schema, such as anycast,such that a specific POP will receive the request as a function ofnetwork topology. For example, in an anycast implementation, a DNS queryissued by a client computing device 102 to a shared IP address willarrive at a DNS server component of the service provider 106 logicallyhaving the shortest network topology distance, often referred to asnetwork hops, from the client computing device. The network topologydistance does not necessarily correspond to geographic distance.However, in some embodiments, the network topology distance can beinferred to be the shortest network distance between a client computingdevice 102 and a service provider POP.

With continued reference to FIG. 4B, once one of the DNS servers in theservice provider 106 receives the request, the specific DNS serverattempts to resolve the request. In an illustrative embodiment, aspecific DNS server can resolve the DNS query by identifying an IPaddress of a network storage provider storage component 140, 144(FIG. 1) or the origin server component 114 and associated storagecomponent 116 (FIG. 1) that will process the request for the requestedresource. The identified IP address of a network storage providerstorage component 140, 144 (FIG. 1) or the origin server component 114and associated storage component 116 (FIG. 1) will be genericallyreferred to as the “storage component” or the “selected storagecomponent.” Illustratively, the service provider 106 can utilizeinformation provided by the content provider 104, information maintainedby the service provider 106 and information provided by third parties toresolve client computing device DNS queries.

In an illustrative embodiment, the service provider 106 will utilizecost information, at least in part, to resolve a DNS request andidentify an IP address of one or more storage components that willprocess (or can process) the request for the requested resource (e.g.,resolve the client computing device DNS query). The resolution of a DNSquery as a function of cost information may depend on the costinformation maintained by the service provider 106 or cost informationtransmitted as part of the DNS query (e.g., cost information included inthe URL). In one example, the cost information may designate that thecontent provider 104 has requested that the service provider 106 selectthe storage component that will process the request for the requestedresource associated with the lowest current cost to the content provider104 to provide the requested resource. Accordingly, the service provider106 could obtain cost information from the content provider 104 andutilize the cost information in resolving the DNS query. In anotherexample, the service provider 106 can utilize cost informationassociated with an attributed cost to the service provider to deliverthe requested resource if an associated component of the serviceprovider is also providing the requested resource on behalf of thecontent provider 104.

In another embodiment, the service provider 106 can attempt to resolvethe DNS query according to geographic criteria. The geographic criteriacan correspond to geographic-based regional service plans contractedbetween the service provider 106 and the content provider 104 or astorage component and the content provider 104. Accordingly, a clientcomputing device 102 DNS query received in a region not corresponding tothe content provider's regional plan may be better processed by astorage component in a region corresponding to the content provider'sregional plan. In this example, the DNS server component 118 may alsoobtain geographic information from the client computing device 102directly (such as information provided by the client computing device orISP) or indirectly (such as inferred through a client computing device'sIP address).

In a further embodiment, the service provider 106 can attempt resolvethe DNS query according to service level criteria. The service levelcriteria can correspond to service or performance metrics contractedbetween the service provider 106 and the content provider 104 or betweena storage component and the content provider 104. Examples ofperformance metrics can include thresholds for latencies of datatransmission associated with transmissions to the client computingdevices 102, total data provided on behalf of the content provider 104,error rates for data transmissions, and the like.

In still a further embodiment, the service provider 106 can attempt toresolve the DNS query according to network performance criteria. Thenetwork performance criteria can correspond to measurements of networkperformance for transmitting data from the service provider 106 to theclient computing device 102 or storage components to the clientcomputing devices. Examples of network performance metrics can includenetwork data transfer latencies measured by the client computing device102 or the service provider 106, network data error rates, and the like.

As an alternative to selecting a storage component (e.g., resolving theDNS query), the service provider 106 can maintain sets of variousalternative resource identifiers. The alternative resource identifierscan be provided by the service provider 106 to the client computingdevice 102 such that a subsequent DNS query on the alternative resourceidentifier will resolve to a different DNS server component within theservice provider's network. In such an embodiment, the receiving DNSname server may utilize alternative resource identifiers in the form ofone or more canonical name (“CNAME”) records to provide additionalrequest routing information. In one embodiment, each CNAME recordidentifies a domain of the service provider (e.g., “serviceprovider.com”or “serviceprovider-1.com”). As will be explained in greater detailbelow, the domain in the CNAME does not need to be the same domain foundin the original URL or network storage provider URL. Still further, thedomain in the CNAME may be unique to the content provider or a commondomain utilized by the service provider on behalf of a number of contentproviders. Additionally, each CNAME record includes additionalinformation, such as request routing information, (e.g., “requestrouting information”). An illustrative CNAME record can have the formof:

-   -   CNAME request_routing_information.serviceprovider.com

In a manner similar to the information described above, in anillustrative embodiment, each CNAME record includes additionalinformation utilized by a receiving DNS name server for processing theDNS query. In an illustrative embodiment, the additional information caninclude information or criteria utilized by the service provider 106during the request routing process. The additional information includedin the CNAME can be the same cost information provided in the originalURL or network storage provider URL or additional/alternative costsinformation obtained by the service provider 106 and previously providedby the content provider 104. Illustratively, the additional informationcan include cost information, service level information, networkperformance information, client identifiers, content provideridentifiers, or other identifiers used to look up request additionalrequest routing information. An illustrative CNAME record can have theform of:

-   -   CNAME        request_routing_information.cost_information.cdnprovider.com

In an illustrative embodiment, the CNAME records are generated andprovided by the DNS servers to direct a more appropriate DNS server ofthe service provider 106. As used in accordance with the presentdisclosure, appropriateness can be defined in any manner by the serviceprovider 106 for a variety of purposes. In an illustrative embodiment,the service provider 106 will utilize the additional information, atleast in part, to identify the more appropriate DNS server of theservice provider 106.

In one illustrative example, the additional information may designatethe content provider 104 has requested that the cost associated with theproviding the requested resource be maintained below one or more costthresholds or cost tiers. Accordingly, the service provider 106 couldobtain cost information for at least a portion of the POPs and selectone or more DNS servers associated with a cost at or below the costthresholds. The service provider 106 could then utilize other requestrouting criteria to select from the selected DNS server (if more thanone DNS server is identified) or selected in accordance with otherselections methodologies (e.g., random, round robin, etc.).

In another illustrative example, the service provider 106 can attempt todirect a DNS query to DNS servers according to geographic criteria. Thegeographic criteria can correspond to geographic-based regional serviceplans contracted between the service provider 106 and the contentprovider 104 in which various service provider 106 POPs are grouped intogeographic regions. Accordingly, a client computing device 102 DNS queryreceived in a region not corresponding to the content provider'sregional plan may be better processed by a DNS server in a regioncorresponding to the content provider's regional plan. In this example,the DNS server may also obtain geographic information from the clientdirectly (such as information provided by the client computing device orISP) or indirectly (such as inferred through a client computing device'sIP address).

In a further illustrative example, the service provider 106 can attemptto direct a DNS query to DNS servers according to service levelcriteria. The service level criteria can correspond to service orperformance metrics contracted between the service provider 106 and thecontent provider 104. Examples of performance metrics can includelatencies of data transmission between the service provider POPs 120,126, 132 and the client computing devices 102, total data provided onbehalf of the content provider 104 by the service provider POPs, errorrates for data transmissions, and the like.

In still a further example, the service provider 106 can attempt todirect a DNS query to DNS servers according to network performancecriteria. The network performance criteria can correspond tomeasurements of network performance for transmitting data from theservice provider POPs 120, 126, 132 to the client computing device 102.Examples of network performance metrics can include network datatransfer latencies measured by the client computing device or theservice provider 106, network data error rates, and the like.

In accordance with an illustrative embodiment, the DNS server maintainsa data store that defines CNAME records for various URLs. If a DNS querycorresponding to a particular URL matches an entry in the data store,the DNS server returns a CNAME record as defined in the data store. Inan illustrative embodiment, the data store can include multiple CNAMErecords corresponding to a particular original URL. The multiple CNAMErecords would define a set of potential candidates that can be returnedto the client computing device. In such an embodiment, the DNS server,either directly or via a network-based service, can implement additionallogic in selecting an appropriate CNAME from a set of possible ofCNAMEs. In an illustrative embodiment, each DNS server component 122,128, 134 maintains the same data stores that define CNAME records, whichcan be managed centrally by the service provider 106. Alternatively,each DNS server component 122, 128, 134 can have a POP specific datastores that define CNAME records, which can be managed centrally by theservice provider 106 or locally at the POP 120, 126, 132.

With reference now to FIG. 4C, upon receipt of the successful resolutionof the DNS query (e.g., resulting in the returning of an IP address tothe client computing device 102), the client computing device 102transmits embedded resource requests to the IP address. In turn, thereceiving storage component (either the network storage provider 110 ororigin server component 114 and associated storage component 116) canprocess the request by providing the requested content. The requestedcontent can be transmitted to the requesting client computing device 102via the communication network 108.

With reference now to FIG. 5, one embodiment of a routine 500implemented by the service provider 106 for managing registration ofcontent provider 104 will be described. One skilled in the relevant artwill appreciate that actions/steps outlined for routine 500 may beimplemented by one or many computing devices/components that areassociated with the service provider 106. Accordingly, routine 500 hasbeen logically associated as being generally performed by the serviceprovider 106, and thus the following illustrative embodiments should notbe construed as limiting.

At block 502, the service provider 106 obtains a request for providingDNS request routing services on behalf of a content provider 104.Illustratively, the request for providing DNS request routing servicesmay be facilitated through a registration API in which the contentprovider specifies information necessary for the service provider 106 tobegin hosting DNS name server functionality on behalf of the contentprovider. The transmission of the registration API (and associatedinformation) may be an automatic process corresponding to an exchange ofinformation between computing devices without need for administrator, orother human interaction. Alternatively, the transmission of theregistration API (and associated information) may be an automatic, amanual, or a semi-manual process in which an administrator specifies atleast a portion of the information necessary for the service provider106 to begin hosting DNS name server functionality on behalf of thecontent provider. An illustrative screen display for the manualspecification of at least a portion of the information necessary for theservice provider 106 to begin hosting DNS name server functionality onbehalf of the content provider will be described with regard to FIG. 7.

At block 504, the service provider 106 obtains the identification of thecontent provider domains and the storage components, cost information,request routing information or other information that will be utilizedby the service provider in processing and resolving the DNS queries.Illustratively, the service provider 106 can obtain at least a portionof the information from the registration API. Additionally, the serviceprovider 106 can request additional information from the contentprovider 104 or other third parties, such as network storage provider110. At block 506, the service provider 106 generates request routingrules and information utilized in resolving DNS queries or providingCNAMES. For example, the service provider 106 may generate, update, ormodify a table of CNAMES in accordance with the registrationinformation. At block 508, the service provider 106 registers its DNSname servers with the appropriate entities such that the serviceprovider 106 can begin receiving DNS queries directed toward thespecified content provider domains. The registration of IP addresses forDNS name server components is well known and will not be described ingreater detail. At block 510, the routine 500 terminates.

With reference now to FIG. 6, a request routing processing routine 600implemented by the service provider 106 will be described. One skilledin the relevant art will appreciate that actions/steps outlined forroutine 600 may be implemented by one or many computingdevices/components that are associated with the service provider 106.Accordingly, routine 600 has been logically associated as beingperformed by the service provider 106.

At block 602, the service provider 106 obtains a DNS query correspondingto resource identifier, such as at a “receiving DNS server.” In anembodiment, one of the DNS servers associated with the service provider106 may directly receive the DNS query transmitted by a client computingdevice 102 or on behalf of a client computing device 102. Alternatively,the service provider may receive information associated with a DNS queryvia an API transmitted by a computing device receiving the DNS querytransmitted by a client computing device 102 or on behalf of a clientcomputing device 102.

As previously discussed, the resource identifier can be a URL that hasbeen embedded in content requested by the client computing device 102and previously provided by the content provider 104. Alternatively, theresource identifier can also correspond to a CNAME provided by a contentprovider DNS server in response to a DNS query previously received fromthe client computing device 102. At block 604, the receiving DNS serverobtains content provider additional request routing information. Asdescribed above, in an illustrative embodiment, the additional requestrouting information may be maintained by the service provider 106 orincluded, at least in part, in the URL or CNAME. Such additional requestrouting information may specify that the service provider 106 shouldutilize additional request routing information in attempting to resolvethe DNS query. As previously discussed, the additional request routinginformation can include cost information, service level information,geographic information, network performance information, and the like.The additional request routing information may be in the form of one ormore thresholds (maximum, intermediate or minimum), ranges, averages,logic statements, declarative criteria, and the like.

At decision block 606, a test is conducted to determine whether thecurrent DNS server is authoritative to resolve the DNS query. In oneillustrative embodiment, the DNS server can determine whether it isauthoritative to resolve the DNS query if there are no CNAME recordscorresponding to the received resource identifier. For example, thereceiving DNS server may maintain one or more CNAMEs that define variouscost alternatives for request routing processing. In this embodiment,the receiving DNS server can utilize the additional request routinginformation obtained in block 604 to select the appropriate CNAME.Alternatively, the receiving DNS server may select a CNAME withoutrequiring additional information from the URL or CNAME. In one example,the additional request routing information may designate that thecontent provider 104 has requested that the service provider 106 selectthe DNS server of the service provider 106 associated with the lowestcurrent cost to provide the requested resource. Accordingly, the serviceprovider 106 could obtain additional request routing information for atleast a portion of the POPs and select a CNAME corresponding to a DNSserver associated with the lowest cost.

In another example, the additional request routing information maydesignate the content provider 104 has requested that the costassociated with the providing the requested resource be maintained belowone or more cost thresholds or cost tiers so long as a maximum averagelatency threshold is maintained. Accordingly, the service provider 106could obtain cost information and latency information associated for atleast a portion of the POPs and select a CNAME corresponding to a DNSserver associated with a cost satisfying the specified cost threshold.Alternative or additional methodologies may also be practiced todetermine whether the DNS server is authoritative.

If the current DNS server is authoritative (including a determinationthat the same DNS server will be authoritative for subsequent DNSqueries), the current DNS server resolves the DNS query by returning theIP address of a cache server component at block 608. In a non-limitingmanner, a number of methodologies for selecting an appropriate resourcecache component have been previously discussed. Additionally, theservice provider 106 can obtain real time or semi-real time informationregarding that status of the various available storage components, suchas a current load, availability, resource utilization, healthinformation, and the like. Still further, as described above, the IPaddress may correspond to a specific cache server of a resource cachecomponent or generally to group of cache servers. The identification ofthe IP address may be provided to the client computing device 102responsive to the received DNS query. Alternatively, if the DNS querywas received as an API, the identification of the IP address may beprovided via an API.

Alternatively, if at decision block 606, the DNS server is notauthoritative, at block 610, the DNS server component selects andtransmits an alternative resource identifier. As described above, theDNS server component can utilize a data store to identify an appropriateCNAME as a function of the current DNS query. Additionally, the DNSserver component can also implement additional logical processing toselect from a set of potential CNAMES. Illustratively, theidentification of the selected CNAMES may be provided to the clientcomputing device 102 responsive to the received DNS query.Alternatively, if the DNS query was received as an API, theidentification of the CNAME may be provided via an API. At block 612,different DNS server components 122, 128, 134 receive a DNS querycorresponding to the CNAME. The routine 600 then returns to decisionblock 606 and continues to repeat as appropriate.

With reference now to FIG. 7, one illustrative embodiment of a userinterface or screen display 700 in which information for registering acontent provider 104 for request routing functionality with a serviceprovider 106 will now be described. In this illustrative embodiment, thescreen display 700 corresponds to a Web page or software applicationdisplay illustrating specification of request routing parameters forprocessing DNS queries for content provider resources.

The screen display 700 includes a first portion identifying the embeddedresources, such as an embedded resource the storage components willprovide, such as name 702, an embedded resource type 704, and a size ofthe embedded resource 706. The identifying information may be manuallyentered, or automatically filled in by the service provider 106 ornetwork storage provider 110. The screen display 700 includes a secondportion for identifying the location of the storage components that willprovided the resources, such a components 708 and 710. The secondportion can also include various cost information, such as cost codes,or other request routing information that specifies criteria utilized bythe service provider 106 to select among storage components.

With continued reference to FIG. 7, the screen display 700 includes twoadditional sections 712, 714 for specifying additional informationutilized in request routing, such as regional or geographic informationand service level information. The screen display 700 also includescontrols 716 for causing the submission of the registration information.One skilled in the relevant art will appreciate that the screen display700 is illustrative in nature and that additional or alternativeinterface display components may be utilized. Additionally, additionalor alternative screen displays may be implemented based on theassociation/relationship of the content provider 104 with other serviceproviders, such as a network storage provider 110 or a CDN serviceprovider.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art and others that allof the functions described in this disclosure may be embodied insoftware executed by one or more processors of the disclosed componentsand mobile communication devices. The software may be persistentlystored in any type of non-volatile storage.

Conditional language, such as, among others, “can,” “could,” “might,” or“may,” unless specifically stated otherwise, or otherwise understoodwithin the context as used, is generally intended to convey that certainembodiments include, while other embodiments do not include, certainfeatures, elements and/or steps. Thus, such conditional language is notgenerally intended to imply that features, elements and/or steps are inany way required for one or more embodiments or that one or moreembodiments necessarily include logic for deciding, with or without userinput or prompting, whether these features, elements and/or steps areincluded or are to be performed in any particular embodiment.

Any process descriptions, elements, or blocks in the flow diagramsdescribed herein and/or depicted in the attached figures should beunderstood as potentially representing modules, segments, or portions ofcode which include one or more executable instructions for implementingspecific logical functions or steps in the process. Alternateimplementations are included within the scope of the embodimentsdescribed herein in which elements or functions may be deleted, executedout of order from that shown or discussed, including substantiallyconcurrently or in reverse order, depending on the functionalityinvolved, as would be understood by those skilled in the art. It willfurther be appreciated that the data and/or components described abovemay be stored on a computer-readable medium and loaded into memory ofthe computing device using a drive mechanism associated with acomputer-readable medium storing the computer executable components suchas a CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, or network interface further, the component and/ordata can be included in a single device or distributed in any manner.Accordingly, general purpose computing devices may be configured toimplement the processes, algorithms, and methodology of the presentdisclosure with the processing and/or execution of the various dataand/or components described above.

It should be emphasized that many variations and modifications may bemade to the above-described embodiments, the elements of which are to beunderstood as being among other acceptable examples. All suchmodifications and variations are intended to be included herein withinthe scope of this disclosure and protected by the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer-implemented method comprising:obtaining registration information at a service provider for registeringone or more content providers with the service provider, theregistration information associated with hosting at least a portion ofDNS routing functionality associated with one or more resources providedby the content provider, wherein the hosting of at least a portion ofDNS routing functionality includes resolving DNS queries; obtainingidentification of DNS routing information to be utilized by the serviceprovider in resolving DNS queries; obtaining a DNS query at the serviceprovider from a client computing device, wherein the DNS querycorresponds to a requested resource associated with a resourceidentifier; and providing the client computing device with at least oneof an identifier associated with a storage component for the requestedresource based on supplemental routing information not included in theresource request or an alternative resource identifier associated withthe service provider and the supplemental routing information.
 2. Themethod as recited in claim 1, wherein the one or more resources areassociated with one or more embedded resources.
 3. The method as recitedin claim 1, wherein the one or more resources are associated with adomain associated with the content provider.
 4. The method as recited inclaim 1, wherein the storage component corresponds to at least one ofthe content provider, the service provider, and a network storageprovider.
 5. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the routinginformation comprises at least one of service level plan information orgeographic selection information.
 6. The method as recited in claim 1,wherein the routing information comprises cost information associatedwith one or more storage components.
 7. The method as recited in claim 1further comprising causing generation, by the service provider, of auser interface for registering one or more domains associated with thecontent provider with the service provider.
 8. The method as recited inclaim 1, wherein the supplemental routing information is not included inthe first resource identifier.
 9. A system comprising: an interfacecomponent comprising a hardware processor configured to executeinstructions stored in memory for obtaining: registration information ata service provider for registering one or more content providers withthe service provider, the registration information associated withhosting at least a portion of DNS routing functionality associated withone or more resources provided by the content provider, wherein thehosting of at least a portion of DNS routing functionality includesresolving DNS queries, and identification of DNS routing information tobe utilized by the service provider in resolving DNS queries; a firstnetwork point of presence associated with a service provider, whereinthe first network point of presence includes a DNS server that receivesa DNS query from a client computing device, wherein the DNS querycorresponds to a requested resource associated with a first resourceidentifier, and wherein the DNS server in the first network point ofpresence is operable to: determine that the first resource identifier isassociated with an alternative resource identifier as a function ofrequest routing criteria associated with a content provider; andtransmit an alternative resource identifier to the client computingdevice, wherein the alternative resource identifier includes informationfor causing a DNS query to resolve to a domain associated with theservice provider; and a second network point of presence associated witha service provider, wherein the second network point of presenceincludes a DNS server that receives a subsequent DNS query from a clientcomputing device, wherein the subsequent DNS query corresponds to arequested resource associated with the alternative resource identifier,and wherein the DNS server in the second network point of presence isoperable to: resolve the subsequent DNS query to identify a cachecomponent for providing content associated with the original resourcerequest; and transmit information identifying the identified cachecomponent to the client computing device.
 10. The system as recited inclaim 9, wherein the first resource identifier includes at least aportion of the request routing criteria.
 11. The system as recited inclaim 9, wherein the DNS server in the first network point of presenceis further operable to obtain at least a portion of the costinformation.
 12. The system as recited in claim 9, wherein thealternative resource identifier corresponds to a canonical name recordidentifier.
 13. The system as recited in claim 9, wherein the requestrouting criteria includes regional service information and wherein thealternative resource identifier includes information identifying aregional service plan provided by the service provider.
 14. The systemas recited in claim 9, wherein information identifying the identifiedcache component to the client computing device includes a networkaddress of a cache component associated with the content provider. 15.The system as recited in claim 9, wherein information identifying theidentified cache component to the client computing device includes anetwork address of a cache component associated with a third partyservice provider.
 16. The system as recited in claim 9, wherein therequest routing criteria includes cost information and wherein thealternative resource identifier includes information identifying a costplan provided by the service provider.
 17. The system as recited inclaim 9, wherein the request routing criteria includes networkperformance information and wherein the alternative resource identifierincludes information identifying a network performance plan provided bythe service provider.
 18. A non-transitory, computer-readable storagemedium having computer-executable modules for managing resources, thecomputer-executable modules comprising: one or more modules configuredto: obtain registration information at a service provider forregistering one or more content providers with the service provider, theregistration information associated with hosting at least a portion ofDNS routing functionality associated with one or more resources providedby the content provider, wherein the hosting of at least a portion ofDNS routing functionality includes resolving DNS queries; obtainidentification of DNS routing information to be utilized by the serviceprovider in resolving DNS queries; obtain a DNS query at the serviceprovider from a client computing device, wherein the DNS querycorresponds to a requested resource associated with a resourceidentifier; and provide the client computing device with at least one ofan identifier associated with a storage component for the requestedresource based on supplemental routing information not included in theresource request or an alternative resource identifier associated withthe service provider and the supplemental routing information.
 19. Thenon-transitory, computer-readable storage medium as recited in claim 18,wherein the one or more resources are associated with one or moreembedded resources.
 20. The non-transitory, computer-readable storagemedium as recited in claim 18, wherein the one or more resources areassociated with a domain associated with the content provider.